Tortoise Club

Chicago-Near North Side

4.4 / 52 / 5

May 11, 2018

This American dining club has acquired something of a timeless air already despite being relatively new on the scene.

This American dining club has acquired something of a timeless air already despite being relatively new on the scene. The latest venture from Keene Addington, the founder of Flat Top Grill, the Tortoise Club offers classic American food and cocktails with an emphasis on local ingredients. They also serve an excellent selection of wines and Prohibition era-inspired cocktails. The room is dark and classically handsome, with fireplaces, Caricatures of notable Chicogoans past on the walls and a 1918 Steinway piano in the corner. Nightly live jazz only adds to the elegant atmosphere, tunes from bygone times warming the room. Their signature Tipsy Tortoise pairs blended malt scotch with house-made Tortoise Club ß-secretß- syrup, amaro, fresh-squeezed lemon, bitters and mint, and they also serve a glorious citrus-spiked Planters Punch and a smooth Antique Whiskey Sour. The bar stocks a large range of bourbon and scotch whisky. Food is exactly what you’d expect from a place like this, simple, hearty, delicious and traditional: think Pheasant Pie, Steak Tartare, Jumbo Shrimp and New York Strip Steak with Pecan Pie and Chocolate Brownies to follow. It’s not innovative in any way, but that’s not what this place is out to do.